in 2005 ktvu's craig heaps brought us a look at a few of them. >> and so my fellow americans ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. >> reporter: it is per happen it is most memorable 17 words to come from an inauguration speech in a generation. certainly in the years after john f. kennedy layed down that challenge no president has delivered a more lasting inaugural phrase. >> the energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it. and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. >> reporter: since george washington made the firsthand written inaugural address, it has been what newly elected or reelected presidents aspire to but few achieve. a spark that lights a fire in the minds of americans. those who stand the test of time have often come in times of great national crisis. when franklin roosevelt first took office in 1932, the nation had just begun the great depression. and roosevelt sought to reassure the psyche of a nation. >> let me affirm the belief that the only thing we ha